The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Hanoi

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday signed loans worth 60 million dollars for anti-poverty and tourism projects in Vietnam, warning that "2009 will be another difficult year" for the country.

The ADB's country chief Ayumi Konishi said Vietnam's communist government had faced an economic downturn this year but had "done extremely well, particularly in controlling inflation and reducing the trade deficit."

"Given the global economic downturn, however, 2009 will be another difficult year, but the Asian Development Bank will continue to give strong support to the government and people of Vietnam," he said at the loan-signing ceremony.

Vietnam's export-led economy grew by 6.2 percent this year, according to government projections, down from 8.5 percent last year, in part because of falling demand in its main overseas markets and falling commodity prices.

The ADB's official development assistance (ODA) includes 25 million dollars for poverty reduction, 25.5 million dollars to repair infrastructure destroyed by typhoons, and 10 million dollars to develop tourism, the bank said.

"As the government tries to stimulate the economy to ensure that the adverse impact of the global economic slowdown will not affect the poor and the vulnerable groups of people, we believe accelerated implementation of the ODA-assisted projects will be particularly effective," said Konishi.

"Implementation of the projects provides jobs for the people, and it can also stimulate consumption by those who benefit from the projects."